I checked this stat and was kind of shocked.In the last week 200 people have signed up and joined this forum. Out of those 200 only 13 posts were made with nobody posting more than twice. Are we that boring?

Are we intimidating? I hope not, but I think that we need to be welcoming to encourage new participation. I'm guessing that maybe a dozen + of us do most of the responses. My impression is that most just observe and don't respond. A very small % of those that read a posting actually comment. Now I do know that at this time of year activity does slows down for a lot of good reasons, but it's always nice to see more activity.

Im here a couple times a week... even in hunting season, you only get 10 posts a day if you are lucky.. Things kind of fell off here.The new users ask questions, they get answered with quality answers from you guys and then that seems to be it. Dont know what it would take to bring things back to like they were '08,09.. its still a nice forum.. You dont have to worry about not being able to keep up with things.

I think we get ALOT of lurkers.There is quite a bit of info on here.Signing up, you do a search and find your answers.As it is, seems forum activity is down throughout the internet.I personally think its because these days there are TONS of micro forums. Forums that are specific to a users needs. I think it sort of limits your activity on the big boards (well really all boards) since your spread out now amongst so many.

"Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you'll be able to see farther."

I'm sure that there are multiple reasons that effect activity here. I suppose that you can't keep beating the same old dead horse. Controversy tends to get conversations going, but sometimes feelings get hurt inadvertently. ( and sometimes not so inadvertently). I think that we should be aware of that, not necessarily always tiptoe around it, but be aware of it's negativity. I don't mean to speak for him, but I think JPH's absence may have been for that very reason. I will be the first to admit that I'm addicted to this place. It can not only be informative, stimulating, enlightening, enjoyable, but annoying, provocative, and frustrating. Life is that way sometimes, I guess. My .02

Search JPH's content. He lost his mind a while back. He declared me a racist, several times, he is for gun control, and he had a fit, and deducted he could not stand to be around people like me. Because I am in favor of keeping illegals out of this country, he labeled me a racist, and kept hammering on how evil I am. He was OK to talk too, but I will not miss his moral prejudgments.

The only real difference between a good tracker and a bad tracker is observation. All the same data is present for both. The rest is understanding what you are seeing.

I visit anywhere from 6 to 8 sites every day, and on certain days I might even go to as many as 12 or 13(remember I'm disabled and don't have to report to a job every day). I will also note that with the confirmation code, this is the most difficult site to participate on that I am actively engaged in and perhaps that fact isn't conducive to many people's active participation. I've noticed that overall membership numbers have increased on all of the sites I visit, with the exception of the NAHC site, which completely self destructed and is now rebuilding with mostly new members. My general observation is that most people who join forum sites are lurkers. I tend to believe that in many instances hunting sites in particular are joined and perused by anti-hunters and anti-gun proponents who are looking for ammunition to fuel their specific anti sites ( some may even be working for the Feds as they search the sites looking for potential inmates for the FEMA camps). Then there are those who sign on simply to spam the sites as we've seen happening in an ever increasing amount lately right here. Perhaps there is a percentage who sign up just to read the forums and glean the site for informational purposes without feeling the need to participate for whatever reason.

I do know that when controversial threads are created, participation among the regulars increases, and as arguments become more intense and personal, sides are taken until eventually one of the original protagonists decides to take his ball and go home and sometimes that's good for the overall health of the site, and sometimes it creates an adverse effect and tends to create less involvement due to fear of intimidation or the desire to avoid unpleasant and argumentative situations.

What I do know from previous experience is that as the various hunting seasons wind down, there is usually an uptick in participation that peaks prior to the beginning of the next new season. With this site's emphasize on deer hunting, maybe the folks who hunt predators, ducks, turkeys, and other game simply don't feel inclined to post much about those interests.

It is important that existing regular members take time to recognize and welcome those new members who do post questions, or just post an introductory comment. Often the simple fact of recognizing those new members helps ease their introduction to the site and bolsters their enthusiasm not only to hunting, but also to participating in the various threads where they are comfortable contributing their thoughts and knowledge.

It is important that existing regular members take time to recognize and welcome those new members who do post questions, or just post an introductory comment. Often the simple fact of recognizing those new members helps ease their introduction to the site and bolsters their enthusiasm not only to hunting, but also to participating in the various threads where they are comfortable contributing their thoughts and knowledge.[/quote]